The Car-Sharing Company Car2go Is Leaving Portland on Oct. 31

Bid goodbye to the mini blue-and-white cars2go that have been in Portland since 2012.

Car2go. (Elvert Barnes)
By Rachel Monahan

Say goodbye to the little blue-and-white cars that have been an alternative to car ownership in Portland since 2012. The company car2go announced on its website that it would leave Portland on Oct. 31.

Car2go's departure marks the second car-sharing company to quit Portland this summer. In July, Reach Now, which was BMW's car-sharing company, removed its fleet from Portland after a merger with car2go. At the time, the company said ReachNow's departure wouldn't affect car2go.

But car2go has changed course.

"Since launching in North America in 2009, transportation has changed drastically and mostly for the better," car2go posted on its website today. "Providing viable alternatives to private car ownership in increasingly densifying cities brings numerous economic and quality of life benefits."

The decision may signal a more competitive market for alternatives to driving. Uber and Lyft (along with e-scooters and the Biketown bike-share program) have all arrived in town since car2go first parked cars across town.

Car2go's departure leaves Portland with Zipcars as the only option for car sharing.

Car2go is leaving other cities too: "Car2go has made the difficult decision to exit the following North American cities: Austin, Calgary, Denver and Portland effective October 31st; and Chicago effective December 31st," the company says.

It will still have cars in New York City; Washington, D.C.; Montreal; Vancouver and Seattle.

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